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‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes

Chunhua Wei, Wenbin Fan, Yue Luo, Nannan Jia, Chuzhang Hong, Jieyu Yan, Xinhua Liu, Rui Tan Orcid Logo

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Swansea University Authors: Yue Luo, Rui Tan Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/smll.202513508

Abstract

Achieving carbon neutrality demands large-scale deployment of renewable energy, which in turn requires efficient, durable, and low-cost electrochemical energy storage systems. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have emerged as a leading technology for grid-scale storage owing to their decoupled power and e...

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ISSN: 1613-6810 1613-6829
Published: Wiley 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71389
first_indexed 2026-02-05T10:23:54Z
last_indexed 2026-03-13T05:24:49Z
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spelling 2026-03-12T15:03:32.3523490 v2 71389 2026-02-05 ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes 4686cadf4ebaed9021deb9eb7350a25b Yue Luo Yue Luo true false 774c33a0a76a9152ca86a156b5ae26ff 0009-0001-9278-7327 Rui Tan Rui Tan true false 2026-02-05 EAAS Achieving carbon neutrality demands large-scale deployment of renewable energy, which in turn requires efficient, durable, and low-cost electrochemical energy storage systems. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have emerged as a leading technology for grid-scale storage owing to their decoupled power and energy, long cycle life, and intrinsic safety. At the heart of RFB performance lies the membrane, which governs ion transport, selectivity, stability, and overall system cost. Optimizing membrane properties is therefore central to advancing RFB technology. This Review examines recent progress in flow battery membranes, emphasizing their working mechanisms, performance criteria, and key challenges. We discuss the structural characteristics, ion transport behavior, and modification strategies of diverse membrane types, including ion-exchange membranes, non-ion-exchange membranes, porous membranes, and emerging functional materials such as covalent organic frameworks, metal–organic frameworks, and polymers of intrinsic microporosity. Particular attention is given to strategies that enhance selectivity and ionic conductivity through synergistic effects, such as size exclusion, Donnan exclusion, and dielectric regulation. Finally, we outline future directions for membrane design, including multi-mechanism coupling, sub-nanometer pore engineering, defect modulation, and composite functionalization, providing a framework for developing high-performance, low-cost, and long-life membranes for next-generation flow batteries. Journal Article Small 0 Wiley 1613-6810 1613-6829 ion transport mechanism; membrane optimisation; microporous and functional membranes; redox flow batteries; selectivity and conductivity 18 2 2026 2026-02-18 10.1002/smll.202513508 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2026-03-12T15:03:32.3523490 2026-02-05T10:18:14.3935111 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Chemical Engineering Chunhua Wei 1 Wenbin Fan 2 Yue Luo 3 Nannan Jia 4 Chuzhang Hong 5 Jieyu Yan 6 Xinhua Liu 7 Rui Tan 0009-0001-9278-7327 8 71389__36404__18d14fe769d44614845f6d8a05dbc0d7.pdf 71389.VoR.pdf 2026-03-12T15:00:01.0811738 Output 7234891 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
spellingShingle ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
Yue Luo
Rui Tan
title_short ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
title_full ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
title_fullStr ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
title_full_unstemmed ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
title_sort ‘Small’ Technology, Big Power: Micropore Engineering for High‐Performance Flow Battery Membranes
author_id_str_mv 4686cadf4ebaed9021deb9eb7350a25b
774c33a0a76a9152ca86a156b5ae26ff
author_id_fullname_str_mv 4686cadf4ebaed9021deb9eb7350a25b_***_Yue Luo
774c33a0a76a9152ca86a156b5ae26ff_***_Rui Tan
author Yue Luo
Rui Tan
author2 Chunhua Wei
Wenbin Fan
Yue Luo
Nannan Jia
Chuzhang Hong
Jieyu Yan
Xinhua Liu
Rui Tan
format Journal article
container_title Small
container_volume 0
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1613-6810
1613-6829
doi_str_mv 10.1002/smll.202513508
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Chemical Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Chemical Engineering
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Achieving carbon neutrality demands large-scale deployment of renewable energy, which in turn requires efficient, durable, and low-cost electrochemical energy storage systems. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have emerged as a leading technology for grid-scale storage owing to their decoupled power and energy, long cycle life, and intrinsic safety. At the heart of RFB performance lies the membrane, which governs ion transport, selectivity, stability, and overall system cost. Optimizing membrane properties is therefore central to advancing RFB technology. This Review examines recent progress in flow battery membranes, emphasizing their working mechanisms, performance criteria, and key challenges. We discuss the structural characteristics, ion transport behavior, and modification strategies of diverse membrane types, including ion-exchange membranes, non-ion-exchange membranes, porous membranes, and emerging functional materials such as covalent organic frameworks, metal–organic frameworks, and polymers of intrinsic microporosity. Particular attention is given to strategies that enhance selectivity and ionic conductivity through synergistic effects, such as size exclusion, Donnan exclusion, and dielectric regulation. Finally, we outline future directions for membrane design, including multi-mechanism coupling, sub-nanometer pore engineering, defect modulation, and composite functionalization, providing a framework for developing high-performance, low-cost, and long-life membranes for next-generation flow batteries.
published_date 2026-02-18T05:34:09Z
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